New Book(s)
"A Rage in Harlem is a ripping introduction to Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones, patrolling New York City’s roughest streets in Chester Himes’s groundbreaking Harlem Detectives series.
For love of fine, wily Imabelle, hapless Jackson surrenders his life savings to a con man who knows the secret of turning ten-dollar bills into hundreds—and then he steals from his boss, only to lose the stolen money at a craps table. Luckily for him, he can turn to his savvy twin brother, Goldy, who earns a living—disguised as a Sister of Mercy—by selling tickets to Heaven in Harlem. With Goldy on his side, Jackson is ready for payback."
Just Finished
"I'm surprised I've only read two books in Henning Mankell's Wallander series. It's probably because I've watched both the original sub-titles series and Kenneth Brannagh's own interpretation of the books that I think I've read more. Anyway I enjoyed The Fifth Woman the fifth book very much.
Wallander has returned from a vacation in Rome with his father, a chance for them to rekindle their relationship. On his return he is thrown immediately into a mystery; a bizarre gruesome murder of an elder man. He is found on his property impaled on bungee stakes (his bridge having been sawed through to make him fall). This begins an investigation involving all of the detectives in Wallander's division. We get the perspective of the perpetrator which adds to the interest. Other murders occur over the course of the story and as well, Wallander must deal with the death of his father. This leads him to spend considerable time mulling his future; does he want to retire, does he want to buy a house, a dog and encourage his girl friend to move from Latvia to live with him? As well, Citizen Militias are forming to take the law into their own hands.
All makes for a rich, detailed mystery story. At time Wallander gets on my nerves; he can be hesitant, quick to anger, doubt his abilities. But at the same time, these characteristics make Wallander more human and realistic. His team is also an excellent mix of people. The story takes its time developing and the investigation at times runs to a halt as they search for other clues and information. But it is also so well written that it seems to move along at a nice pace belying its length.
All in all, I enjoyed very much and I hope I won't take so much time to get on with the next story. (4 stars)"
"I found The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle a difficult book to rate. It is a fantasy about the search by the last unicorn on earth, along with Schmendrick, a bumbling magician and Molly Grue, to find out if there remain any other unicorns on Earth. I think my problem is that the unicorn isn't necessarily a sympathetic creature. Because she is a unicorn, she is above most other creatures, distant from everybody else. Schmendrick and Molly Grue are likeable enough especially the spirited Molly. And when Prince Lir shows up, he is also an interesting character, a hero who loves the unicorn, who by this time is in human form; a love that might not be returned.
See... it's a sort of depressing story in its way. The Unicorn is captured by a wandering band of gypsies who display captured creatures of the night. Schmendrick helps her escape and she is affected by this. Encounters with the Red Bull terrify and diminish the unicorn. I should stop at this point as I don't want to ruin the story but there is a gloom feel throughout (although I'll readily admit that the recent weather here with its stuffy heat might have affected my mood), what with the problems of the unicorn and her friends, the broken caste they find themselves in, the constant threat from the Red Bull.
But it is a story that is resolved; I won't say necessarily nicely because even there there are sad portions. Even with that, it's a unique story, poetic and musical in a way and well worth experiencing. How could you not read a story about a beautiful unicorn? (4 stars)"
Currently Reading
"Inspector Domenic Jejeune’s success has made him a poster boy for the U.K. police service. The problem is Jejeune doesn’t really want to be a detective at all; he much prefers watching birds.
Recently reassigned to the small Norfolk town of Saltmarsh, located in the heart of Britain’s premier birding country, Jejeune’s two worlds collide when he investigates the grisly murder of a prominent ecological activist. His ambitious police superintendent foresees a blaze of welcome publicity, but she begins to have her doubts when Jejeune’s most promising theory involves a feud over bird-watching lists. A second murder only complicates matters.
To unravel this mystery, Jejeune must deal with unwelcome public acclaim, the mistrust of colleagues, and his own insecurities. In the case of the Saltmarsh birder murders, the victims may not be the only casualties."
"It was January 2021, and Rick Deckard had a license to kill. Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard's assignment--find them and then..."retire" them. Trouble was, the androids all looked exactly like humans, and they didn't want to be found!"
Bill's Author's A - Z
1. Clive Cussler. American adventure author is a most prolific writer. I'll just talk about him in my A - Z today as he's written books in 5 different adventure series; Dirk Pitt, NUMA Files, Oregon Files, Isaac Bell and Fargo Adventures. I've read the first two books in the Isaac Bell Adventures and have slowly acquired the first books in others of the series. I'll highlight those I've read and the first books of the others that I have.
"This is my first experience with Clive Cussler and I enjoyed very much. A nice, well-paced historical thriller with car chases, train chases, bank robberies, all good stuff. I especially found the bit about the San Francisco earthquake interesting as I had read a book about those events last year and it reminded me of that excellent story. Isaac Bell is an interesting character, son of a rich banker who has chosen to fight crime and now chases a bank robber/ murderer for the Van Dorn Detective agency. He's definitely larger than life but still thoughtful. The killer is also interesting, a sociopath who thrives on the thrill of the robberies he commits and cares not for life. An extreme challenge for Bell. An interesting time in history, pre WWI as the US is becoming a major power but still a bit of a wild frontier. Most enjoyable. 3.5 stars"
"Wow! I wonder if Clive Cussler gets paid by the word; or maybe because he has a co-writer for many of his books, they both feel that they need to contribute 200+ pages for each book. OK, enough kidding. Considering it's size, The Wrecker, the 2nd book in the Isaac Bell thriller / mystery series, is a page-turning thrill-ride.
Isaac Bell is the top detective in the Joseph Van Dorn Detective Agency. Van Dorn assigns Bell to catch and stop The Wrecker, an unknown enemy who seems bent on destroying the Southern Pacific Railway company owned by millionaire, Oswald Hennessy. Trains are derailed, people killed, damage to the major railway tunnel that Hennessy is trying to build through the Cascade Mountains. Bell and his team of Van Dorn agents must race against time to find out who this mysterious Wrecker is and also to save Hennessy's railway.
It's a fast-paced story, full of action (some which you just have to suspend disbelief with) that leaves you breathless and tension and thrills. Bell races from one end of the country to try to find out who the Wrecker is and to try and stop his plans. We meet his lover Marion Morgan, an intelligent, beautiful, independent woman, again as Isaac and Marion build on their relationship. We meet The Wrecker and get a peak at his plans as they develop throughout the story.
All in all, it's a fun ride, rocketing throughout the United States in the early 1900's, as the railways were trying to unite the country and the world was filled with adventure. Great stuff! (3.5 stars)"
"Dirk Pitt, death-defying adventurer and deep-sea expert, is out to the ultimate test as he plunges into the perilous waters of the Pacific Vortex -- a fog-shrouded sea zone where dozens of ships have vanished without a trace. The latest victim is the awesome superb Starbuck, America's deep-diving nuclear arsenal. Its loss poses an unthinkable threat to national defense. Pitt's job is to find it, salvage it, before the sea explodes. In a furious race against time, Pitt's mission swirls him into a battle with underwater assassins-and traps him in the arms of Summer Moran, the most stunningly exotic and dangerous toward disaster, Clive Cussler plummets his hero onto an ancient sunken island-the astonishing setting for the explosive climax of Pacific Vortex!"
"When Kurt Austin, the leader of a courageous National Underwater & Marine Agency exploration team, rescues beautiful marine archaeologist Nina Kirov off the coast of Morocco, he becomes the next target of Texas industrialist Don Halcon. A madman bent on carving a new nation out of the southwestern United States and Mexico, Halcon's scheme hinges on Nina's recent discovery involving Christopher Columbus, and a priceless pre-Columbian antiquity buried in the battered remains of the sunken Italian luxury liner "Andrea Doria." Only Kurt Austin and his crack NUMA team stand between Halcon and the "Andrea Doria's" silent steel hull -- and if their deadly mission fails, Halcon will ride to power on a wave of death and destruction."
"In his first feature-length adventure, it's up to Cabrillo and his crew of expert intelligence and Naval men to put Tibet back in the hands of the Dalai Lama by striking a deal with the Russians and the Chinese. His gambling chip is a golden Buddha containing records of vast oil reserves in the disputed land.
But first, he'll have to locate—and steal—the all-important artifact. And there are certain people who would do anything in their power to see him fail..."
The first book in the Fargo series is Spartan Gold. Cussler has written enough stories to keep me going for a number of years. Give him a try. Have a wonderful week!!
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